Cyclone death toll in Madagascar rises to 25

ANTANANARIVO, May 13 (AFP) - The
death toll from the cyclone that lashed the east coast of Madagascar last
week has risen to 25 people and another four people are missing, the National
Rescue Committee (CNS) said on Tuesday.

Nearly 22,000 people were affected when
Cyclone Manou struck on May 8, leaving many homeless and thousands without
power or water, the CNS said.

It said the actual toll could be higher
still, since it had not been possible since the cyclone hit to re-establish
contact with one of the areas worst hit -- the town of Vatomandry, around
140 kilometres (90 miles) south of the main east coast port of Toamasina.

"The road's still bocked and telephone
lines are still down," a CNS official told AFP in the Indian Ocean
island state.

The cyclone affected around 9,000 people
in Vatomandry, which was 90-percent damaged and another 13,000 in Ilaka
region, south of Vatomandry, the CNS said on Monday.

Prime Mininster Jacques Sylla and Interior
Minister Jean Seth Rambeloalijoana have appealed to the international community
to aid people affected by the cyclone.

The national utility company Jirama has
rushed workers to the east of the Indian Ocean island to repair water and
electricity networks.